William l



w. L. GEBBY.

` Cotton-Planter.

Patented Dec. 4, 1866.

IMPROVEMENT 1N COTTON Pianura.`-

WILLIAM L. "GEBBY, OF NEW D, Letters .Patent No. 60,170, dated December 4, 1866. y i

SPECIFICATION- )TO ALL WHOMAIT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM L. GEBBY, of New Richland, inA the county'of Logan, and State of Ohio,

have invented a new and useful Machine for Planting Cotton and other Seeds; and Ido` herebydeclare that the y following is a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters ofy reference marked thereon, in 'whichi Figure l represents a view in perspective of my machine; looking at it from `the lei`tl 1an`d side;` andf` V Figure 2 a similar view, but looking at it from the right-hand side. i

Figure 3 represents one of the front or ridging ploughs detached; and

Figure 4 one of the rear or covering ploughs detached.

Figure 5 represents a portion of a plunger which forces the seed into the droppers,` showingthe mechanism by which itis operated. i

Figure ti represents a'portion of the dropper-wlieel.

VFigure 7 is a plan of the secd'box. t

a'b c, FigureY 8, are d iierent views of the droppers which are used for planting cotton.

Figui-e9 is a View of the dropper used for planting corn, broom corn seed, sorghum seed, dto.

Figui-elo represents one end of the axle on `which is an adjustabls clutch.

Similar letters indicate` corresponding parts in Veach igure.

The object of' my invention is to construct a combined machine that -will plant cotton seed `correctly-and in any quantity desired, without divesting it of the cotton that adheres to it on comingfrom the girarandA I i i and withoutsubjecting it to a rolling process, either of which interferes very materially with its: germination,` l y and one that is equally applicable for planting corn, broom corn, sorghum seed, &c., by merely changing `the i droppers. In making my machine I construct a frame consisting of the slide-railsiA A, connected bythe `cross-` bars B B. The' said frame is set on' an iron axle C, andy secured to it by boxing, the axle, he`ing supported on thewheels D ,To the front end of the frame is attached the tongue E, whichis constructed with hounds similar to an ordinary wagon tongue. On the cross-bars B B' is secured a box,.F, for containing the seed to be planted, the said box being provided Witha `lid, G, secured to the box by the hinges d t` i Nearthepentrc yoi' the axleifs rigidly secured a dropper-wheel H, the axle passing through the centre of the Wheelr y The dropper-wheel extends up and forms a part fof one side of the seed box,A the sidelcf 'thelbox being cut awayso` as to fit the wheel. Near the-periphery of the dropper-wheel, and` transversely;,throughiihareformed holesp: through which .pass thel peculiarly constructed the outer-ends e c of the .droppcrs are attached to the ends of the springs d d, theopposite ends of the said springs being firmly securedto the `droppervlheel near` its i centre. On the outside of the seed box are secured the inclined planes I and I', which 'are curved to corrf'.

spond to the `periphery of the droppcrfu'heel, one being at the-front and `the other at the ,.roari'of said wheel. y t During the revolution of the dropper-wheel the shoulders e e of the droppersb bpass onthe inclinedplane` at the point and as the wheel revolves the droppers are gradually drawn out, so thatj-the inner ends thereof will be on a line with the bead g ou the inside ofthe wheel, and thus they lwill pass through thehottom of the box, without requiring a. larger aperture than is necessary for the passage of the bead. When theshoulderse e l pass oti the top h h of the inclined planes the springs rl d suddenly throw the droppers in, s o that their inner ends. project beyond the bead g'into the box F. The central part` J ofV the bottom of the seed. boxiis convex lengthwise of thebox, and extends almost to the b ead g on the dropperjuvheel, and thus keeps the seed t up toncar the bead and droppers. Immediately over the convex bottom' of the seed `box `isplaced a plunger i or false' bottom, K, 'which extends through the side of the feed box opposite the dropperfwheel, the side of the -box being cut away to correspond with the form of the plunger. The arms i connect the outer end of the said plunger to the upright lever j, which has itsr fulcrum at k on the end of the arm l, `which isJsecured to the side oi the seed box. The said lever extends doivn through a slot in the plate m to the axleiC. llielever` j isoperated by the spiralian'ge. or cam L, whichis rmly secured to .the axle C. As the axle revolves, theiisaid flange g1 -adually forces the plunger K into the seed box untilthe top of the flange n passes the leveryhen the lever and plunger are suddenly drawn out by the spring o, and thus the plunger is alternatelyforccd inand drawn out on eachrevolution ofthe axle.` The plunger by its peculiar reciprocating moti that it willlie grasped by the dropperaand also rprevents the seed from packingin t on forces 3 the seed up sofi box." On the axle near; the-right-h wheel is placed a cylindrical-clutch, iig. 10, which gears with angularteeth formed on the inner" end of the vnaveof the right-hand wheel. The slot g will allow a sueient motion of the clutch lengthwise of the axle to throw it out of gear, and the pin r forces the clutch to revolve with the axle. The said clutch may bethrown out of gear by means ofV the crooked lever s, which has its fulcrum-on the end of the arm t, which is .secured to, and projects horizontally from, theside-rail A. -The lower end of the lever s is forked, `and is set astride of the clutch p, a groove being formed around the cylinder of the clutch for that purpose, and thus the `lever does Vnot interfere with the revolvngof the clutch. On releasing the lever the clutch is thrown in gear by the spring u. On my machine I use four ploughs, thc front ones, M M, being the ordinary right and lefthand ploughs, and are arranged so as to throw the earth inwardA and form a ridge with a furrow on top of it, in which the seed is dropped and the rear ploughs N N are so formed and arranged that they will close the furrow and cover the seed. The ends of the beams P, to which the front ploughs are-secured, are jointed to the siderails at vby means of bolts, and may beadjustcd higher or lower by means of the holes 'w w. The rear ploughs lN N are secured'to the lower` ends of the curved bars R R, placed on the inner side of the side-rails, to which they are hinged by means of the rod as, which passes across the frame and through the side-rails. The said "bars are connected by another rod y, which extends across the rear-end of the frame and-through the ends of the arms S S, the said arms being hinged to the outside of the side-rails by the ends of the'rods x, which project through the rails. T T are adjustable arms secured to the side-rails on the inner sides; the said arms support the rody, and by means of them the rear ploughs may be adjusted higher or lower. At the front end of the seed boxis a shaft U, which extends across the frame,fand is securedto the side-rails by means of boxing. To the end of the said shaft, on the left-hand side-of the machine, is rigidly attached the arm 2, which extends back horizontally on'the top of the side-rail for a short distance, and is curvedl upward, as shown in g. l. On the oppositev end of the shaft U is rigidly attached the crooked lever 2', 'shown in tig. 2. To the arm 2 and lever 2 at 3 are jointed the rods 4,`which extend back and are jointed to the rod y at 5. The hooks 6 6 connect the beams P P to the arm 2 and lever 2. The adjustable bar '7 is placed under the side-rails and extends from one to' the other, and is attached to the side-rails by any means by which it may be conveniently adjusted higher o f lower. The rear ends of the hounds 8 8 rest on this.bar,`and by adjusting it higher or lower the end of t e tongue may be raised or loweredy to adapt it to a large or small team. The guards 9 9, which are secured to the side-rails, serve as guides to retain. the front ploughs in a proper position. i l l The operation of my machine is asfollows, viz The seed' being placed in the box F-and the ploughs properly adjusted, the front ploughs M M will throw up a ridge with a furrow on the top of it as the machine isdrawn over the' ground, which has been previously Iprepared by ploughing. At the same time the axle is made to rotate by means of the clutch p, which, in its turn, causes the dropper-wheel H to revolve, and by means of the springs d d and the inclined planes I and I', the droppers b are thrown in and drawn as has been described. When thefdroppersare thrown in so that their ends project beyond the bead g, the hooks on their ends grasp the seed, and when the droppers are drawnback the heady assists in retaining the'seed in the hooks, and inpassing through the bottomof the box'theelasticpadA 10 will force in or draw out anyseeds that may project beyond the edges of the bead g without mashing them. When the seed has been carried through theibo'lttom of the box, the shoulders e e onthe droppers pass oif the top of the inclined'plane, and the 'springs d cl throw the droppers in, and the seed drops in the furrow on the top of the ridge, the apron 11 preventing it from scattering. In' transporting the machine from' place to place, turning at the ends of the rows, or passing over obstructions,` allthe ploughs may be raised from the ground at the saine time by raisingthe lever 2-, which will also operate the lever s andthrow the clutch out of gear., when both wheels will revolve without turning the axle'or operating any of the machinery; or the clutch may be thrown out of gear: by the lever s without raising the lever 2. It will readily be seen that the droppers will grasp and drop a uniform number of seeds, and the number of seeds ma'y be increased or diminished by using: droppers of greater or less capacity, the construction andy manner of attaching 'the `hooks being such that they may be easily removed from the dropper-wheel"andothers of different capacity substituted; and the seeds may be dropped any desired distance apart by using a greater or less number of droppers.. I use droppers with hooked ends, as shown in iig. E, only forplanting cotton, For planting corn, broom corn, sorghum, die., -I use droppers with cups in them, as shown at 12 in fig. 9. p

Having described'my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-l 1. The wheel H, droppers 6, springs ol ol, inclined planes I and I', and apron 12, constructed and opere ating substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2.V 'Ihe seed box F, constructed substantially as described. j

v3. The plunger K, constructed and operated substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. The cam L in-combination with the lever j, arms z' z', spring o, and plunger K, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. i l

5.` The combination of lever s, arm`t, clutch p, pin 1*, and spring u, constructed and operating substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The ploughs N N, bars R R, arms SS and T T, and rods :r and y, in combination with the lever 2 and arm 2, substantially as' described. y i p f7. The shaft U, arm 2, lever 2', rods 4 4, hooks 6 6, and beams P P, when used in ecmbinationfubstantially as and for the purpose set forth. 8; The'bar 7 in combination with the hounds 8 8, Vfor the purpose'set forth. f

, WM. L. GEBBY. Witnesses:

R. H. GARDNER, CHARLES Hannon. 

